laserblazer Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) http://uk.news.yahoo.com/t-shaped-electricity-pylon-of-the-future-unveiled.html A thought. Why don't they put mini wind turbines on pylons, some control equipment. Stick the output through a transformer and stuff it straight into the Grid? Ahh the French are ahead of the game it seems. Edited October 14, 2011 by laserblazer
localzuk Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 My preference is for 'no pylons'... Stick the cables underground. Less maintenance issues due to storms, less eyesores, less damage to people's property value etc...
TechMonkey Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 T-shaped electricity pylon of the future unveiled - Yahoo! A thought. Why don't they put mini wind turbines on pylons, some control equipment. Stick the output through a transformer and stuff it straight into the Grid? Ahh the French are ahead of the game it seems. [ATTACH=CONFIG]11642[/ATTACH] They are quite nice, not sure they will hold as many lines as some of the current ones though. I'm sure I heard that suggested somewhere else & I guess the answer would be no reason why not but it puts the cost of the pylon up plus would it be economical.
laserblazer Posted October 14, 2011 Author Posted October 14, 2011 They are quite nice, not sure they will hold as many lines as some of the current ones though. I'm sure I heard that suggested somewhere else & I guess the answer would be no reason why not but it puts the cost of the pylon up plus would it be economical. If sticking a solar panel on your roof makes money? Maybe they could put solar panels on pylons as well? I'd have thought that, being next door to the backbone would have cost saving benefits.
Oaktech Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 My preference is for 'no pylons'... Stick the cables underground. Less maintenance issues due to storms, less eyesores, less damage to people's property value etc... have you seen the statisitics for cable strikes for road repairs... the thought of HT long distances under ground and the likelihood of a navvi puting a JCB through it is not pleasant! Just my $0.02!
TechMonkey Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 But panels/turbines on your house roof and how ever many thousand if not hundred thousand pylons are slightly different. It's not just the fact of it being there but the maintenance (taking into account how remote some of these pylons are), the repair (do you have a modular to replace or the whole pylon, maintaining stuff around that amount of current would have high risks & training costs) & how being in that close a proximity of all that electrical interference might affect things.
januttall Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 My preference is for 'no pylons'... Stick the cables underground. Less maintenance issues due to storms, less eyesores, less damage to people's property value etc... if underground they would overheat causing further restance and more repair work. and theyd have to pay to dig them up all of the time as well as cool the things. and there then not as accessable 1
nicholab Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 I which we could be more like the Germany and accept technology I think Wind turbines look lot nicer than Pylons but so many people go overboard. The problem is we need this stuff, it has to exist in the physical surrounding and also it has to be Financed. You have to remember before the Conservative government started building the grid in 1926 we were far behind France and Germany in the use of electricity.
Rawns Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 A thought. Why don't they put mini wind turbines on pylons, some control equipment. Stick the output through a transformer and stuff it straight into the Grid? BBC News - In pictures: Pylons of the future? 2nd picture - top left. Looks like the idea was considered as it got short-listed. I don't know about other areas in the UK, but there have been a LOT of fields that have suddenly been filled up with solar panels down my way.
Gatt Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 I like the new T pylons.. bit like a cross between a telephone pole and the cables used for some of the overhead Tram lines... I also agree that underground cabling would be a nightmare - both financially and practically.. Can you imagine if one got damaged and made the ground "Live" - it'd only take one poor sod to stand on a live patch of dirt and there'd be lawsuits aplenty....
jinnantonnixx Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) Slightly OT, but do pylons scare the bejaysus out of anyone else? I go underneath some on some bike rides and can't get past them quick enough. Must have been all those public information flicks in the '70s. Jimmeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy!* * from Jimmy tries to get his frisbee out of a substation but doesn't make it. This will mean something to a lot of us, I'm sure. Edited October 14, 2011 by jinnantonnixx
jinnantonnixx Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Further to my (completely rational, in my view) wariness of pylons, a tree came down and snagged a pylon cable on its descent. Right across the canal path which I travel. It was above head-height, but not by a huge margin I was not a happy man. I called National Grid and they were there like a shot. Didn't do much for my nerves, though.
theriver Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Never mind all that . . . . today we learned that there is a Pylon Appreciation Society (Pylon Appreciation Society - Pylon Appreciation Society).
jinnantonnixx Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Back on topic, I like all the designs (except the currently used one). The 'ant' one is splendid.
Gatt Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Never mind all that . . . . today we learned that there is a Pylon Appreciation Society (Pylon Appreciation Society - Pylon Appreciation Society). yeeesss.. This did make me go through a range of emotions - from a laugh and a groan to complete disblief !
Andrew_C Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Some years ago I head a figure for the comparative costs of overhead vs. buried cables on National Grid voltages (100kV and above) It was something like £100000 a mile overhead, and £1.5m buried. And this was 10+ years ago!
localzuk Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Some years ago I head a figure for the comparative costs of overhead vs. buried cables on National Grid voltages (100kV and above) It was something like £100000 a mile overhead, and £1.5m buried. And this was 10+ years ago! That is capital expenditure, and doesn't take into account TCO... I can't remember where I saw it now, but I read an analyis of total cost over the life of a pylon, and the underground cables worked out cheaper.
Andrew_C Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Who cares about TCO if your industry is going to be privatised, split up, sold to the French, and possibly (come the revolution) re-nationalised?
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